Sources: Syria conference will move to New York on Dec. 18

A man carries a girl as they rush away from a site hit by what activists said were airstrikes by forces loyal to Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad in the Douma neighbourhood of Damascus, Syria August 24, 2015.

A conference that was meant to take place in Vienna grouping Syria’s warring sides will instead take place in New York on Dec. 18, sources told Al Arabiya’s sister channel al-Hadath on Wednesday.

Before the meeting in the U.S. city, moderate Syrian opposition leaders will be meeting the Saudi capital Riyadh on Dec. 7 in an attempt to unify their stance.

These conferences come after an international agreement to launch talks between the government and opposition on Jan. 1.